Dogs are very common pets for families. Many families, however, are not able to keep constant supervision of their dogs, necessitating the pets to be left alone for several consecutive hours, several days per week. It is common for families to leave dogs confined to a cage during these unsupervised hours. Extended time in a cage can prove difficult for puppies that are yet to be properly housetrained. Puppies that have not yet been fully housetrained can have erratic bathroom schedules. Puppies often use the bathroom once per two hours. Families who must leave a puppy confined to a cage for several hours at a time multiple days per week cannot properly accommodate the puppy's needs in a traditional dog crate or cage.
During the housetraining process, puppies are conditioned to learn which areas are appropriate for the puppies to leave their waste. Often an owner will reward a puppy when it leaves its waste in an outdoor area, while punishing it when waste is discovered in a living area. This process conditions the puppy to develop a clear delineation between areas that are suitable for waste, and those that are meant for living or sleeping. Traditional dog crates and cages do not contain separated areas. The housetraining process can be stunted when a puppy is confined to a traditional cage, and may have to relieve itself in the same area in which it sleeps. A dog cage that has an area specifically for sleeping, separated from an area where a puppy can relieve itself, can help reinforce the conditioning of which areas the puppy is allowed to leave its waste. Cages that do not have a delineated area for pet waste can also result in the puppy regularly soiling its bedding or toys. A lack of delineation can also affect a puppy's mood, as dogs have a natural instinct to avoid leaving their waste in living or sleeping areas.
There is a large market for pet beds for use in dog cages or crates. Many products in the market involve a bed or blanket that is placed on the floor of the cage or crate. The bed is intended to provide a comfortable sleeping area on the floor of the cage. Dogs, however, often prefer to sleep in elevated areas when given the choice. There are few pet beds or sleeping products that provide dogs with an elevated sleeping area in a dog crate or cage. For dogs that must spend extended time in a crate or cage, a comfortable and naturally enticing sleeping area is crucial.
A number of previous dog cages include removeable dog beds. U.S. Pat. No. 2,900,956 discloses a cage containing an insertable and removable cot comprising a pallet suspended between rails, with leg units supporting the rails. See also U.S. Pat. No. 2,980,058, which is also discloses a heating element added to the cot.
Another example of cages for pets includes U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,630, disclosing a sanitary facility for household pets with a rear toilet compartment and a open front compartment. This pet crate with a separated area for pet waste is typical of cages that are designed for cats, and it is well known that litter training cats and house training dogs require very different types of behavioral reinforcement. The type of training disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,246,630 is actually undesirable for proper training of dogs.
A number of other disclosures of elevated beds include U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,778 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,267,077. These patents disclose elevated pet beds for the purpose of easing the cleaning of the pet cage, but do not suggest using the beds as part of a training system for conditioning dog behavior.
A vast variety of other dog training systems are available, including a number of systems such as that disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication 2008/0264348 “Puppy Training System,” and U.S. Patent Publication 2012/0210947 “Puppy Apartment.” These publications describe separate detachable enclosures that may provide unwanted conditioning for a pet to relieve bodily functions within an enclosure.
Some products in the industry do attempt to provide dogs and puppies with an area in a cage or penned area where it is appropriate for the pet to leave its waste. Many of these products employ an absorbent pad, which often has adhesive to attempt to restrict the pad's movement. As dogs often have an instinct to scratch and paw at the ground where they have recently relieved themselves, the pads can become dislodged and create a mess of the dogs' waste.
A system designed to address all the issues discussed above would be a novel product in the industry. Such a system would provide an ideal method for providing a comfortable environment for dogs and puppies who must spend extended hours in a cage or crate, while also reinforcing the conditioning required for the housetraining process.